It's a new SUNDAE!

Well, it's not that I had a lot to do, but it's just some of the stuff I had to do took some time to make.

On the menu:

• Homemade applesauce
• Salmon patties
• Quinoa patties
• Butter garlic mushrooms
• Lemon shrimp
• Chocolate covered banana coins
• Healthified sesame chicken
• Homemade cheese bites (I'm sure once you see the picture you'll know what they're supposed to imitate)

Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients

8 apples (I prefer granny smith because I like my applesauce tart, but I'm sure you can use whatever kind tickles your fancy)

Juice from 1 lemon

Directions

1. Core and dice apples

2. Dump apple pieces into slow cooker

3. Juice 1 lemon. Mix juice with apple pieces.

4. Cook on low for 6 hours.

5. Use a hand blender (if you have one) or a potato masher and mash down into liquid form.

6. Let it cool completely.

7. ENJOY!

Salmon Patties

Ingredients

8-9 oz salmon fillet, skinned & chopped into tiny pieces

2 T fresh basil

1/4 C panko bread crumbs

1 t ground ginger (or 1 T freshly grated ginger)

1 t garlic

1 t lemon juice

1 T soy sauce (or soy/coconut aminos)

2 T chia seeds

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, except EVOO, and form into 4 patties

2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.

3. Once hot, add patties and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Enjoy them as soon as you can. They are DELICIOUS!

Quinoa Patties

Ingredients

2 C cooked quinoa

2/3 C grated fontina cheese

3 T whole wheat flour

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 t black pepper

2 1/2 T EVOO

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT EVOO in a bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

2. Form 4 patties with the mixture.

3. Pour oil into a pan over medium heat. Place patties into the heated pan.

4. Cook each patty for about 5 minute on each side.

Butter Garlic Mushrooms
Ingredients

1 container of WHOLE mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced in half
2 1/2 T butter (I used coconut butter)
1 T garlic
1/3 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Directions
1. Melt butter on low

2. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add mushrooms and toss with garlic butter to coat.

4. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes (do not burn the garlic), stirring occasionally

5. Enjoy it as a side.

Lemon Shrimp
Ingredients
1 lb raw shrimp
2 lemons, sliced
2 1/2 T EVOO
1 t italian seasoning

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a baking pan with foil.
3. Toss raw shrimp with italian seasoning
4. Put lemon slices on bottom of pan. Drizzle with EVOO. Put shrimp on top of lemon and EVOO.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Covered Banana Coins
Ingredients
2 bananas
Melting chocolate of your choice (I went with dark chocolate)
Nut butter of your choice (I went with my homemade almond butter)

Directions
1. Sliced bananas into 1 inch coins
2. Drizzle a little bit of nut butter over bananas
3. Melt chocolate
4. Line a baking pan with parchment paper

5. Dip bananas into chocolate and place on parchment paper
6. Freeze for about 30 minutes. Enjoy them or place in fridge for later indulgence.

Healthified Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
6 chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 C honey
1/2 C soy sauce (or soy/coconut aminos)
1 C water
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 t garlic
1 T toasted sesame seeds

Directions
1. Heat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray to medium-high
2. Cook chicken for about 6 minutes
3. Mix together honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes until no cork starch lumps appear
4. Pour sauce into skillet over chicken
5. Cook until sauce thickens
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds
7. Cover and simmer for 10minutes

Homemade Cheese Bites (WARNING: time consuming, but SOOO worth it!!)
Ingredients
8 oz sharp cheddar, grated (seriously, get a block of cheese & grate it)
4 T unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 t salt
1 C flour
2 T ice water

Directions
1. Combine cheese, butter, and salt in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment (mixture will be crumbly)

2. Slowly add flour and then ice water (no wet dough).

3. Pat the dough into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Roll out each disc into 1/8 inch thickness.

6. Cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza wheel (or whatever you may have around).

7. Use a toothpick to prick a hole into the center of each square.

8. Transfer crackers onto the baking sheet.

9. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until puffed and browning around edges.

10. Allow to cool.

[SIDE NOTE: I'll definitely be making this again, but next time I'll do 1/2 C whole wheat flour and 1/2 C white flour to up the nutrition value]

Doing it Paleo-ish!

Another Sunday-Funday around here, and lots of delicious food prep going on.

On the menu for the week:

• Slow-cooker chicken tortilla soup
• Slow-cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken
• Chocolate Almond Balls
• Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse
• Doggie Treats
• Hummus

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

1lb frozen chicken

15oz diced tomatoes

10oz salsa verde

1 medium onion, chopped

2 gloves garlic, minced

3.5 C chicken broth

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, salsa, onion, and garlic into a slow cooker.

2. Pour in chicken broth and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.

3. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours.

4. Enjoy with avocado & sour cream (or if you're like me, plain greek yogurt & salt.... seriously, it's good!)

Slow-Cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken (adapted from The Food Lovers Primal Palate)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (innards removed)

1 lemon

2 t garlic

Salt & pepper to taste

Sprinkle of ground sage

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken under cool water and pat dry.

2. Season chicken with salt & pepper, including the body cavity.

3. Prick lemon with fork all over.

4. Place garlic inside the body cavity followed by the lemon.

5. Sprinkle chicken with sage.

6. Cook in crock pot on Low for 8 hours.

Chocolate Almond Bites (adapted from The Food Lovers Primal Palate)

Ingredients for Almond Butter

12oz raw almonds

1/2 C coconut oil

2 t vanilla extract

2 pinches of salt

Ingredients for Bites

3/4 C homemade almond butter

1/3 C shredded coconut

1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t vanilla extract

Directions for Almond Butter:

1. Process almonds in a food processor until they form a fine meal

2. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil at a time, while the almond butter is processing

3. Continue to process until the almond butter is creamy (this may take a while, and use more or less oil as needed to get it fairly fluid)

4. Add the vanilla extract and salt, and continue to process for about a minute.

5. Pour almond butter into a jar and set aside.

Directions for Almond Coconut Bites:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl

2. Stir mixture until all ingredients are equally blended together.

3. Form mixture into small balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet

4. Place in freeze for 10-15 minutes if you want to eat them immediately or continue to store in freezer until you want more.

(notice I already tried one on the bottom right? ;))

My thoughts: It's ok. The Detox restricts you from any sugar so this was pretty disappointing to me since I enjoy cake balls so much. I guess I'll just have to live with this. Only 2 more weeks left (thank goodness!!)

Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse (recipe adapted from the 21 Day Detox manual)

Ingredients

1 avocado

1 medium-large banana

1 T almond milk

4 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 t vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Scoop out avocado into a food processor with the banana, almond milk, cocoa powder, coconut, and vanilla extract.

2. Blend until smooth.

My thoughts: It's got the consistency of mousse, but it's a little bitter due to the cocoa powder & the unripened banana (per Detox guidelines!). I'll eat it, but I won't be making it again.

DOGGIE TREATS!!! (my pooch LOVED these!!)

Ingredients

1 C cornmeal

2 C all-purpose flour

1 t salt

1 egg

3 T vegetable oil

1/2 C chicken broth

1 t dry parsley (or 2 t fresh)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease 1 cookie sheet

2. In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg together with the oil. Stir in the chicken broth and parsley.

4. Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring to combine and make a soft dough.

5. Working on a lightly floured surface, lightly knead the dough.

6. Roll out to a thickness of 1/2 inch.

7. Cut into desired shapes with cook cutters.

8. Place cookies one inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

9. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, or until firm.

(Yes, those are ninja's!)

Hummus

Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans

2 T lemon juice

~3-4 T garbanzo bean juice

1 t garlic

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Add juice to desired consistency.

2. Devour!

(P.S. Using the juice of the beans rather than Olive Oil really cuts down on the calories!)

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe that 2012 is already here. So much happened in 2011, but I believe I am one of the many that is hoping for a better 2012.

Anyway.... a friend and I are going to be following the 21 Day Detox for the next... well, 21 days. Although the food restrictions aren't anything too bad, it will take some time for be to get used to the fact that I can't have any fruits or my morning oatmeal. But, it's only 21 days (3 weeks). And, the food that I've cooked up smelled & tasted great. Well, I don't want to keep you waiting so...

On the cooking menu today:

• Garlic lemon shrimp
• Mashed sweet potatoe
• Roasted spaghetti squash
• Garlic lemon grilled chicken
• Roasted asparagus
• Roasted green beans
• Tomato feta salad

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

Ingredients
1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned
1/2 lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil.
2. Add the 2 cloves of garlic and sautee for about 30 seconds, careful not to burn
3. Add the shrimp and sautee each side for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice and let the shrimp simmer for 2-3 more minutes
5. Enjoy!

Mashed Sweet Potato
Ingredients
A couple pounds of sweet potatoes (however much you need based on how much you want to make)
Chicken stock (or milk, or heavy cream, or however you like to make your mashed potatoes)
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Rinse your sweet potatoes. [I personally like to keep the skin on because like my grandmother always said... you get the most vitamins from the skim]

2. Fill a pot up with water. Set to boil.

3. While the water is boiling, cube the sweet potato (Less boiling time if you do it this way. Plus, it's not like you have anything else to do while you're waiting for the water to boil).

 

4. Allow the sweet potato to boil until it becomes soft (time varies due to amount you're making... just poke it around with a fork)
5. Drain the sweet potatoes & then mash it up.

 

6. Add your fluid of choice. Mine was homemade chicken stock that I had on hand. (with all of that fatty goodness)

7. Then, use your handheld blender and make your mashed potatoes super smooth (if you like of course).

8. Enjoy!!

(Seriously, it's really good!)

Roasted Spaghetti Squash (recipe from the 21 Day Detox)

Ingredients
1 Spaghetti squash
3 t Coconut butter (taste's just like butter!!)

1. Split the spaghetti squash in half

2. Scoop out the innards and toss.

3. Spread 1.5 t of coconut butter on each half of the squash (ok, ok... you can use any other kind of butter as well. Coconut butter is just part of the detox)

4. Roast at 375*F for 30-45 minutes (until edges are brown).

5. Allow to cool (seriously... it's super hot!). Then, scoop out the innards with a fork (you'll realize why it's called spaghetti squash once you do it).

6. Enjoy like you would any other pasta! Seriously, even the pickiest of eaters won't know the difference once you add a little pasta sauce to it.

Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
Bunch of asparagus
2 t Olive Oil
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Garlic powder (to taste)
Italian seasoning (to taste)

1. Cut off garlic stems

2. Put into a medium bowl.

3. Toss all ingredients in bowl.
4. Spread asparagus out in a row and roast at 375*F for 20-30 minutes (watch it start browning).

5. Enjoy!

Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients
~1 quart of green beans (cooked from frozen or boiled from fresh)
2 t Olive oil
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Garlic powder (to taste)
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning (to taste)

1. Toss all ingredients in bowl.
2. Bake in the oven at 375*F for 20-30 minutes (watch for it to brown).
3. Enjoy!

Tomato Feta Salad
Ingredients
Tomatoes
Crumbled feta
Olive oil (to taste)
Salt & pepper (to taste)

1. Cut up tomatoes into small sections

2. Add feta.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Enjoy!

Garlic Lemon Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Juice from 2 lemons
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/4 C olive oil
Paprika (to taste)
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt & pepper (to taste)

1. Combine lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper all in a bowl.
2. Add chicken and allow to marinate 10-20 minutes (or longer if you want the taste to absorb)
3. Grill
4. Enjoy!

And now, I'd like to show you all how I prepare my meals for the week...

I've got 1/2 C of plain greek yogurt with a dash of cinnamon, some raw honey, and chopped raw almonds as a snack. I've also got the shrimp & green beans for lunches as well as the chicken with asparagus. I've also prepared the feta cheese in boxes so that all i have to do is add the tomatoes (it would be awful if they both sat there and soaked up all of that tomato juice). I have the mashed sweet potato as my pre-workout snack, with walnuts (1/2 C mashed sweet potato). I also have homemade hummus & baby carrots as another snack alternative.

See, it's not that hard. No excuses!

Have a great week. As always, would love to hear from you all.